Automatic pit cleaner



Mmh 15, 1966 G. 1.. Kn'soN 3,240,323

AUTOMATIC PIT CLEANER Filed Dec. 30, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 /nvenf0r Gem/o L. Kl'fson A fforney March 15, 1966 G. L. KITSON 3,240,323

AUTOMATIC PIT CLEANER Filed Dec. 50, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet z 222 ,46 52 (x i/#941404 2/441 A/ /n ven for 159 Gero/d L. K/fson Af/omeg March 15, 1966 G. L. KITSON AUTOMATIC PIT CLEANER Filed Dec. 50, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Mil .222

zlfomey United States Patent 3,240,323 AUTOMATIC PIT CLEANER Gerald L. Kitson, 9709 Belding Road N11, Rockford, Mich. Filed Dec. 30, 1963, Ser. No. 334,506 3 Claims. (Cl. 198-224) This application is a continuation-in-part of my copendin-g application Serial No. 736,765, filed May 21, 1958, entitled Floor Cleaning System, and now abancloned.

This invention relates to the construction of floorcleaning equipment, and is associated usually with barns, poultry houses, and other buildings where the salvage of droppings is of equal importance to the maintenance of cleanliness. This material makes excellent fertilizer, as is well known, and its collection and storage represents a group of tasks, common to practically every farm.

The floor cleaner according to this invention comprises a scraping conveyor that movesacross the area where the litter is deposited, preferably below a slat floor. The path of movement of each cleaner unit deposits the litter at the end of the path traversed by each unit. The transfer surface is usually a straight section of floor and an endless'flexible member such as a chain or cable is positioned by suitable pulleys is guided along and directly above the transfer surface. A single unit is carried over a given section of floor, with the endless cable, and only the cable, traversing both of the associated floor sections in a reciprocating movement whereas the given unit alternates in a delivery and in a return stroke over a single fioor section. The cable and pulleys are so related to the cleaning unit that placing the cable under tension between two pulleys, as in drawing the unit in its delivery storke, provides a vertically downward component of force to the cleaner unit and holds the unit adjacent the floor.

This invention provides a simplified group of components from which a system can be adapted to the individual needs of the farm building with utmost economy and ease of installation. The control system is also highly simplified, and determines the action of a motorized winch which cycles an endless cable over a path determined by suitable pulley positions, with one or more legs of this path corresponding to the path to be swept by the scraper unit. In one form of the invention, scrapers are associated with parallel sections of the path of the endless cable, resulting in a reciprocal movement of one scraper with respect to the other. These two preferably parallel paths may either be on the same floor, or may be installed in successive floors one above the other. The utilization of several legs of the path of the endless cable to handle a corresponding group of scrapers obviously results in an economy of installation and equipment.

The several features of the invention will be analyzed in further detail through a discussion of the particular embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 present a plan view of the winch unit associated with the preferred form of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the same winch unit, FIGURES 1 and 2 being in projection.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of one of the scraper units.

FIGURE 4 presents a schematic view of an installation of two scrapers following parallel courses on successive floors one above the other.

FIGURE 5 presents a schematic plan view of a pair of scrapers moving in parallel courses on the same floor.

FIGURE 6 presents a circuit diagram showing a control system for the system.

FIGURE 7 is a section on an enlarged scale on the plane 77 of FIGURE 6, and showing the details of the construction of the scraper unit.

FIGURE 8 presents a schematic illustration of an installation of floor cleaners with a conveyor across the end of a poultry house.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the motor 10 drives a belt 11 with the pulley 12 with the driven Wheel 13 transferring power to the shaft 14. A geared speed reducer 15 transfers power to the shaft 16 which carries the sprocket 17 and the sheave 18. The sprocket 17 drives the chain 19 which distributes the power between the two shafts 16 and 20, the latter carrying the sheave 21 of the same diameter and travelling at the same speed as the sheave 18. The intensity of the loading on winch is frequently quite high, and the motor unit 10 is mounted on the platform 23 which is pivoted to the speed reducer 24 to maintain the belt 11 in a tight driving condition. The rails 25 and 26 carry the pillow blocks 27 and 28, respectively, for supporting the shaft 16. The movable pillow blocks 29 and 30 are adustable along the rails 25 and 26, respectively, responsive to the action of the bolts 31 and 32 for maintaining the proper tension in the chain 19. Reducing the distance between the sheave axes also provides slack in the cable for attachment of cable fittings. Return of the pillow blocks to a position corresponding to proper chain tension then causes tension to be applied to the relatively resilient cable. The inner end of the bolts 31 and 32 have threaded engagement with portions of the pillow blocks 29 and 30 as shown in FIGURE 2.

Details of the scraper units pulled by the cable 22 are illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 7. A yoke of steel rod 33 carries the side plates 34 and 35 to form a frame which provides runners supporting the tubular shaft 36 at a fixed distance above the floor. A fixed strap 37 extends from the tubular shaft 36 through the rear end of the yoke to stabilize the structure. The blade 38 is hinged with respect to the tubular shaft 36 by the straps 39 and 4t (refer to FIGURES 3 and 7). The length of the blade is such that the lower edge is disposed at a greater distance from the axis of the shaft 36 than the distance from this axis to the floor which is being scraped. This relationship results in an inclined position of the blade as shown in FIGURE 7.

The movement of the scraper unit to the left as shown in FIGURE 7 generates a scraping action which tends to rotate the blade 38 in a counterclockwise direction. A stud 41 (preferably mounted on both of the plates 34 and 35) limits this movement to the position shown in FIGURE 7. When the scraper is moved in the opposite direction, the blade 38 will tend to rotate in a clockwise direction in a feathering action which will cause the blade to move over the top of any accumulated litter which exists in its path. The scraping action will only take place in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG- URE 7. Normally, the unit will be mounted for operation underneath a perforate or slat type flooring of the type shown in FIGURES 7 and 8 in which a series of generally parallel slats 42 is supported on the series of transverse beams 43-45. The illustrated modification is adapted primarily for poultry houses, and the upper surface of the slats 42 provides the area for the support, feeding and watering of the birds.

Referring to FIGURE 4 an arrangement is shown in which a unit is installed in a building having a main floor surface 46, and a floor surface 47 spaced vertically above it. The endless cable 22a is driven by the winch unit 48, and carries the scraper 49 across the floor 47 and the scraper 50 across the floor 46. Pulleys identified at 51, 52, S3 and 54 establish the paths of movement traversed by the cable and scrapers. Both the cable and the scrapers 49 and 50 are arranged to scrape as they move to the left, which sweeps the accumulated litter into the troughs and 56 where it may be conveniently handled by a conveyor.

FIGURE 5 shows an arrangement in which the scrapers 57 and 58 are moved by the cable 22b under the action of the winch 59. The pulleys 60-63 determine the path of movement of the cables in a generally coplanar relationship, with the scrapers moving in a reciprocal relationship along substantially parallel paths.

Referring to FIGURE 6, a simplified control system is illustrated. A winch and motor unit is indicated at 64. Power leads and 66 are connected to the controller 67, which has the adjustable arm 68 for establishing the direction of operation of the winch unit 64. A single scraper installation is shown in FIGURE 6, with the scraper unit 69 being moved by the cable 22c. As the push buttom switch 78 is manually depressed for an instant (with the switch arm 68 selected to move away from the particular end where the scraper has been stopped), a circuit is completed through the solenoid 71 and maintains contact between the points 72 and 7.3. Under these conditions, the winch will continue to run in this selected direction. If the direction is to the right as shown in FIGURE 6, the movement will continue until the scraper 69 engages the cam 74 of the switch 75, and causes it to open the circuit. The winch will then stop its movement. To return the scraper in the opposite direction, the arm 68 is shifted from the contact 76 over the contact 77, and the switch 78 again momentarily depressed. Movement of the scraper will continue to the left until the cam 78 of the switch 79 is engaged by the scraper, causing the circuit to be opened and the movement of the winch to stop. The action of the arm 68 can be rendered automatic by conventional arrangements well known in the art so that the direction is reversed on arrival of the scraper at the end of its travel.

FIGURE 8 illustrates a poultry house generally indicated at 80, and which is provided with a trench 81 along one end for receiving the discharge alternately from each of cleaners 82 and 83 used to move litter down along the length of the poultry house below the slat floor 84 and into the trench 81 for transfer from the house 80 by a conveyor operating in the trench 81. The bottom 81a of the trench 81 serves as the transfer surface across which the material delivered by the floor cleaners 82 and 83 is conveyed by the series of tilting units 85 under the action of the cable 86.

The conveyor operating in the trench 81 comprises units 85 which are caused to move around the end pulley 87 of the cable system, invert, and proceed for distance along an elevated return path above the normal conveying path. The movement of the units 85 around the pulley 87 and the inverting of them resulting from the arrangement of track 88 positively assures a complete dumping. The form of the units 85 themselves is such as to induce a conveying action only when moving in one direction, while providing a rocking movement on the return path which tends to raise the conveying blade so that it will ride over and by-pass the material on the transfer surface 81a for later engagement on the next loading movement. Thus, it is contemplated that units such as 85 may be substituted for cleaners 82 and 83 or may be of the form shown in FIGURES 3 and 7.

The power unit 94 includes a motor coupled through sprockets and sheaves for the transfer of power to the cable 89, and may be as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. This power transfer system is mounted on a platform structure 90 secured to the frame 91, and is fixed with respect to the structure of the poultry house 80. Additional support for the inclined loading portion 92 of the conveyor is provided by the strut 93 extending from the outer end over to a point of attachment with the building itself.

Reverting to FIGURES l, 2, 4, 5 and 6, the winch means comprises a cable means 22, a plurality of pulleys 51-54 and 60-63 guiding the cable 22, a first sheave 18, a first shaft 16 for sheave 18, and a sprocket 17 on said shaft 16. A second sheave 21 having a second shaft 20 are provided, shafts 16 and 20 being parallel. The second sheave 21 is of the same diameter and travels at the same speed as the first sheave 18. A second sprocket 17a is on said second shaft 20; and sheaves 18 and 21, and the sprockets 17 and 17a, are respectively in alignment with loops of cable 22 being wrapped about said first and second sheaves 18 and 21 in parallel. A drive chain 19 is in driving and driven engagement with first and second sprockets 17 and 17a, respectively. A motor unit 18 includes a drive pulley 12 on the motor, a driven wheel 13 (on shaft 14) and a geared speed reducer 15 coupled to said first shaft 16. A belt 11 is arranged between the drive pulley 12 and wheel 13. The first sprocket 17 drives the chain 19 which distributes the power between the first and second shafts 16 and 20. A platform 23 pivoted at 24 to the speed reducer 15 supports the motor unit 10 thereby maintaining the said belt 11 in a tight driving condition. A pair of parallel rails 25 and 26 carry a first pair of aligned pillow blocks 27 and 28 to support the first shaft 16; a second pair of aligned pillow blocks 29 and 30 adjustable along the said rails 25 and 26 in respect of said first pillow blocks 27 and 28 support the second shaft 20 and maintain the proper tension in the chain 19 between sprockets 17 and 17a. Thus, fixing the pillow blocks 29 and 30 in a position corresponding to proper chain tension, applies tension between the sheaves 18 and 21 and assures driving engagement between the dually driven sheaves 18 and 21 and the relatively resilient cable 22.

The winch means may also include a pair of anchor bolts 31 and 32 longitudinally fixed to said rails 25 and 26 and threadedly engage movable pillow blocks 29 and 30 to space sheaves 18 and 21 and to place the cable loops in tension between the spaced driving sheaves 18 and 21.

While I have described my invention with respect to specific embodiments thereof I do not limit myself to these embodiments but claim all modifications and variations that fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A conveyor system in combination with a floor having spaced parallel channels, a cross trench arranged transverse to said channels, said conveyor system including a conveyor means in each of said channels comprising a scraper blade, runner frame means swingably supporting said scraper blade along its upper edge on an axis parallel to the said floor, said blade having a slant height which exceeds the distance from said axis to said floor, flexible means operatively associated with opposite ends of said frame means to pull the same in either of opposite directions substantially perpendicular to said axis, pulley means definin a path of movement for the said flexible means in said channels, winch means engaging said flexi ble means to move said scrapers in said channels whereby a scraper in one channel is caused to travel in one direction while a scraper in the other channel travels in the other direction, and a secondary conveyor means in said trench.

2. A conveyor system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said channels are in substantially the same plane and Said winch means is arranged beyond said cross trench, the said flexible means entering and leaving said winch means in paths substantially parallel to the said plane and to the longitudinal axis of said cross trench.

3. A conveyor system as set forth in claim 2 wherein said channels are subjacent to an open flooring having spaced support elements through which poultry droppings are deposited into said channels.

(References on following page) References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Fiddes 214--34 Beach 37135 Livingston 37--120 Petroske 198224 Simpson 198-224 Bruecker 198224 6 Graham 119-22 Sutherland 198-224 Turnquist 254175.7 Tuplin 254175 .7 Kitson 198-218 SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD E. AEGERTER, Examiner. 

1. A CONVEYOR SYSTEM IN COMBINATION WITH A FLOOR HAVING SPACED PARALLEL CHANNELS, A CROSS TRENCH ARRANGED TRANSVERSE TO SAID CHANNELS, SAID CONVEYOR SYSTEM INCLUDING A CONVEYOR MEANS IN EACH OF SAID CHANNELS COMPRISING A SCRAPER BLADE, RUNNER FRAME MEANS SWINGABLY SUPPORTING SAID SCRAPER BLADE ALONG ITS UPPER EDGE ON AN AXIS PARALLEL TO THE SAID FLOOR, SAID BLADE HAVING A SLANT HEIGHT WHICH EXCEEDS THE DISTANCE FROM SAID AXIS TO SAID FLOOR, FLEXIBLE MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID FRAME MEANS TO PULL THE SAME IN EITHER OF OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICUALR TO SAID AXIS, PULLEY MEANS DEFINING A PATH OF MOVEMENT FOR THE SAID FLEXIBLE MEANS IN SAID CHANNELS, WINCH MEANS ENGAGING SAID FLEXIBLE MEANS TO MOVE SAID SCRAPERS IN SAID CHANNELS WHEREBY A SCRAPER IN ONE CHANNEL IS CAUSED TO TRAVEL IN ONE DIRECTION WHILE A SCRAPER IN THE OTHER CHANNEL TRAVELS IN THE OTHER DIRECTION, AND A SECONDARY CONVEYOR MEANS IN SAID TRENCH. 